Pineapple kesari bhath or sheera or pineapple semolina pudding is an easy Indian sweet recipe perfect to make on any special occasion , festivals or celebrations
Pineapple kesari bhath recipe
Pineapple kesari is a popular South Indian sweet recipe that can be made for any special occasion. Once you have your first spoon of kesari, your palate will be bursting with pineapple flavors! The fruity flavor from the kesari makes the entire home smells amazing. Usually pineapple kesari are served in marriages, temple celebrations.
What do you mean by kesari
The word kesari refers to the spice saffron which gives the beautiful orange-yellow color tint to the sweet. The dish is common in cuisines of Karnataka and Tamilnadu and other southern parts of India. Kesari or Sheera is an Indian sweet recipe that is common throughout the country. The classic ingredients used for its preparation are semolina, sugar, ghee (clarified butter), water, and milk. The precise composition of kesari bath varies regionally depending on the availability of ingredients. The dish might be prepared with pineapple, banana, mango, coconut,or rice.
Ingredients to make pineapple sheera recipe
The main ingredient to make pineapple kesari/sheera is rava and pineapple, which is easily available. The other ingredients are sugar, ghee (clarified butter), cashews, rasins, cardamom poda. The roasted rava works the best, if you are unable to find the roasted rava, add a teaspoon of ghee to a pan and roast the rava on a low flame for 5 minutes. The fresh pineapple gives that exotic flavor to the kesari, mostly during the summer you can find the pineapple easily on the market. If you are unable to find fresh pineapple , you can replace it buy frrozen pineapple chunks or canned pineapple pieces.
I have used fine rava for this recipe, because fine rava texture will be great for sweets. If you are using coarse rava then add extra ¼ cup of water than the mentioned quantity in the ingredient list.
Substitute for pineapple
Here is the common substitute for pineapple in kesari:
- Banana
- Mango
Banana and Mango works the best for Kesari. You can add it to the Kesari by mashing them or slicing them.
Various names of pineapple kesari
Pineapple kesari has various names, like pineapple sheera, pineapple halwa, pineapple kesari bath, pineapple sooji ka halwa, pineapple semolina pudding, etc., but the process of making this kesari is quite similar in all the regions.
You may also like these easy Indian sweet recipes
Can I use condensed milk instead of sugar for making the recipe?
Kesari is traditionally made with sugar for sweetness, if you have condensed milk you can use that instead. Even jaggery works!
Here are the common health benefits of pineapple:
- Loaded with nutrients
- Boost Immunity
- Improves digestion
- Has anti-cancer properties
- Prevents Arthritis and heart diseases.
Here is the recipe for pineapple sheera or halwa

Pineapple Kesari -Easy Indian Sweet Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup pineapple chopped
- 2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
- 12 nos cashews
- 12 nos raisins
- 1 cup rava
- 3 cups water
- 1/4 tsp yellow food color
- 1 and 1/2 cup sugar
- salt
Instructions
- Usinga sharp knife peel the outer skin and remove the inner core part of thepineapple and chop it and set aside.
- Heat a pan and ghee. Once the ghee melts, fry the cashews followed by raisins.
- Transfer it to a small plate and addthe rava to the same pan and roast it on a medium flame.
- After2 minutes of roasting the rava, transfer it to a seperate plate.
- After2 minutes of roasting the rava, transfer it to a seperate plate.
- Oncethe water starts boiling add the chopped pineapple pieces.
- Inthis stage you can add the yellow food color (optional) and a pinch of salt.
- After 5-10 minutes the pineapple pieces would have cooked soft, now reduce the flameand add the roasted rava slowly.
- Withthe help of the spatula stir it without any lumps.
- After 2-5 minutes of cooking the rava add the sugar and mix it well.
- Finallyadd the cardamom powder and close with lid.
- After 2 minutes, the ghee used will oozes out and kesari will not stick to spatulaand pan, this is the perfect consistency.
- Now add the friedcashews and raisins and switch off the flame, “Pineapple Kesari” is ready toserve.
Notes
- If the pineapple used is not so sweet, you can increase the sugar measurement to 2 cups.
- If you want you can add the pineapple essence few drops.
- You can also use saffron strands instead of yellow food color.
- You can add some chopped almonds at the end.
Nutrition
Notes:
- If the pineapple used is not so sweet, you can increase the sugar measurement to 2 cups.
- If you want you can add the pineapple essence few drops.
- You can also use saffron strands instead of yellow food color.
- You can add some chopped almonds at the end.
You might also definitely like this recipe using pineapple : Classic Pina Colada